The Role of Interoception in Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis: Investigating the Role of Interoception Using Advanced MRI
IRAS ID
201462
Contact name
Waqar Rashid
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory condition affecting the central nervous system, and constitutes the greatest cause of non-traumatic disability in young adults in the Western world. Patients can experience a wide array of
symptoms and can have different degrees of disability. However, other less obvious symptoms such as fatigue or cognitive impairment are reported by patients to be of great importance, as they impact on the patient’s quality of life
(QoL).Multiple sclerosis fatigue is important because of its prevalence, its impact on the QoL and because of the economic burden it gives rise to, by affecting productivity and employment. It was reported to be the most debilitating symptom,
severely affecting 1/3 of the patients, even some with very mild disability. So far, there is no clearly effective symptomatic treatment. Some of the disease modifying treatments seem to decrease fatigue, but the mechanisms are not yet understood.There are many studies on fatigue in MS, but there is not yet a unified theory on its origin. The majority of research has focused on the involvement of the reward system in MS fatigue. However, there is evidence to suggest the involvement
of neural pathways conducting information from the inner body (interoceptive afferent pathways) in the context of neuroinflammation to underpin the feeling of fatigue. We plan to investigate this pathways.We will conduct research using state-of-the-art brain scanning techniques and analysis methods, neuropsychology tasks and questionnaires. This will give us greater insight into relevant factors contributing to fatigue in MS and allow
to better target treatment strategies. We hope the knowledge gained will be used in future research to design effective treatments for MS fatigue.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/0081
Date of REC Opinion
31 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion